I do not own Loki or any of the other Thor characters I may use or mention herein. I am merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
A childhood tragedy destroys the bond of brotherhood between Thor and Loki for good. Odin can see that if he does not intervene, the boys will both be lost to him so, he does the only thing he can thing of. He is aware of the risks, but knows this is the only option. For years the boys seem fine, then Odin notices something dark in his youngest son. Something he knows he is responsible for.
Movieverse, set before the film. Features young Loki, Thor, Lady Sif and The Warriors Three.
Rain Maker.
Chapter One: Sanctuary.
Dusk threw honey coloured light into the library and softened the harsh corners of the bookcases a little. The colours of the bindings - most of which were blood red or the colour of wet mud - were largely unaffected by the sunset's intrusion. They remained the same hue no matter what the time of day.
The same could be said of the smell; dusty, sweet, a little damp, old, timeless and unchanging.
Occasionally, other scents found their way into the reading room. In winter, the clean, clear, fresh scent of snow would squeeze itself through the gaps in the windows and under the door, seeking sanctuary from the biting cold that chased it.
In the spring, the servants would open the windows in an attempt to air the room out, and the aroma of tree blossoms would float in and nestle amongst the leather bound tomes.
But no scent was more powerful than that of the books themselves. It was always there, omnipresent and unwavering. The forever musk; the scent of knowledge itself.
Loki stepped into the chamber with a deep breath and a smile. He stood for a moment in the doorway, as was his custom, surveying the books with pride. They were his. They were all his. Or they might as well have been. Thor didn't much care for parchment and ink and, as a result, seldom visited the library.
I wonder if he even knows it exists. Loki had thought on more than one occasion, shaking his head at his brother's disregard for all things intellectual.
In fact, nobody visited the place, save for the servants of course, and theirs were the short, tentative visits of those who felt they were trespassing. They dusted and prodded, tidied and left.
Loki had watched them once before, out of curiosity. It had been more of a test really, an experiment to ascertain if they could see him.
Hiding in the shadows afforded by the deep bookcases, Loki had watched them as they gingerly neatened up stacks of books, pushed back the ones that were out of line amongst their brethren on the shelves and wiped delicately, with small squares of cloth, at the edges of the shelves left bare, prone to collecting dust.
When they had gone, Loki had stepped from the shadows, plucked a book from the sill closest to him and had sat for hours, leaning against the centre-most window in the room's only wall not obstructed by the shelving units, just reading. This was his sanctuary, sacred only to him, the one thing of his Thor would never claim as his own.
Loki stepped dutifully across to the wall of windows and stared downwards to the city below. The buildings seemed to cascade down the small mount on which the palace had been built. They meandered, in small groups, downwards until they became smaller and were engulfed by the less sparsely positioned abodes of the city's centre.
If he inclined his head to the left and leaned forward against the pane, Loki could just about make out a thin, grey outcrop, flecked with spots of green. This was all he could fathom from this angle, but he knew what would be revealed if he could see further. He knew he would see the ocean. The ocean that held no clear colour. It wasn't blue, wasn't black, wasn't green. Instead it was a combination of these and more.
On many an occasion, Loki had likened the colour to that of the Bifrost's bridge, but he had kept this observation to himself. It was secret only he knew, An insight only he was allowed to know.
Loki pushed himself away from the cold glass, silently stepping round the goldenstone bureau littered with stacks of books and pieces of parchment pushed into neat piles. He reached the opposite side of the desk and leant against it, pulling a book from one of the piles on it's surface and thumbing it open. He turned a few pages before he found one worth his attention and granted it his focus.
Loki remained like this for a little while, turning pages at almost the same speed as the sun was setting in the sky.
Then, a noise broke his concentration. It had been quiet, a little louder than a breath and lasting only a second. A gasp perhaps? He closed the book and placed it aside him, leaving a flattened palm atop the cover. His focus was on the door, his head tilted slightly to the side.
"Hello?" Loki ventured, in a tone confident and indifferent at the same time. When no reply came, he turned his attention back to the book. He lifted it gently from the desk top and was about to find the page he had been reading when another small noise came from the direction of the doorway. This one sounded more like someone clearing their throat and this time, when he looked up, the origin made itself known to him.
It was a girl.
She looked about his age, her face still slightly rounded by infancy. Two large eyes of ambiguous colour stared innocently ahead. Her brunette hair, easily reaching to her waist was secured in plaits, one either side of her head. Loki couldn't tell what the girl wore; she had yet to step into the room.
"Sorry…I was…er…lost." The girl offered, an awkward smile on her lips. She rounded the door fully and stepped into the amber aura of the archive. Loki noted a flaxen tunic tied in at the waist with a piece of gold cord. The girl's shoes were worn, but not likely due to lack of affluence. They looked as if they were a favourite pair that she wore often.
"What were you looking for?" Loki asked, kindly, responding to the girl's uneasy smile with a friendly one of his own.
The girl took a step closer and shifted awkwardly, "Not what, whom."
She corrected. Loki raised an eyebrow, "Alright then; For whom are you looking?"
"I was looking for the Allfather." She replied. Loki registered a slight flash of fear in her eyes at the mention of his name.
"Odin?"
" Yes." The girl nodded, "I'm supposed to give him a message."
"What message?" Loki's eyes narrowed and his face fell a little in concern. There was a note of panic in his voice.
The girl turned away slightly, "Couldn't you just tell me where I can find him? Please? I need to be getting home."
Loki stood and moved towards the girl slowly, "Is it something bad?" He queried.
The girl gave a shrug of her shoulders and shifted her gaze to something hanging on the cord at her waist. Loki wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.
"I was just told to give him this." She lifted the something, unfastening it from the rope and as she did so, Loki studied it. It was a scroll wound around a coarse wooden spindle. On the seam was an insignia, scrawled in black ink. Loki swallowed involuntarily, recognising it immediately.
"Is your father alright?" He asked.
The girl looked startled for a second, her eyes met his for the first time. Loki noticed they were ice blue.
"How did you-?"
"Is anything the matter?" He pressed, concern weaving itself around the words.
"He's fine." The girl assured him, "He tried something reckless and got himself hurt." There was ridicule in her tone and guilt as well. Loki wondered why.
"Badly?"
"Badly enough to be bedridden for a few days." The girl answered solemnly.
Loki gave a nod in understanding, "So I'm guessing he sent you along with an explanation as to why he's going to miss his lessons?"
She nodded. Loki held out a hand for the scroll as if he had decided he laid some sort of claim to the document.
"I had wondered at his lateness." He stated matter-of-factly, "Ymir's not one for missing them."
The girl's hand tightened around the scroll and her brow furrowed in confusion.
"You're Loki?" She asked.
Loki blinked slowly, unaware of how exactly to respond to her tone of disbelief.
"Yes." He stated dubiously, "Am I not permitted to be?"
The girl's eyes widened a little and she turned to the boy before her with arms raised slightly in surrender, "Sorry! Of course you are. Of course you are. I'm sorry. It's just…" She seemed to stop herself, as if she had suddenly realised that what she was about to say could get her into trouble.
Loki waited patiently, his arms folding across his chest. He smirked a little and raised an eyebrow, "It's just what?"
"Nothing." She replied too quickly.
"What?" Loki coaxed, a smile twitching at his lips. "Tell me."
The girl shook her head and took a demure step backwards.
"Tell me and I'll explain to Odin about Ymir." Loki offered.
The girl looked up, "Really?"
He gave a nod, "You won't even have to meet him."
He outstretched a hand and watched as she thought for a moment, mulling the consequences over in her mind. In the end, she surrendered the scroll, dropping it gently into his palm.
Then she turned to leave.
"Where are you going? We had a deal!" He called after her as she made for the door.
"We do." She called over her shoulder, "I just want to be far enough away when I tell you."
Loki scoffed and gave a single, permitting nod. When she reached the door, the girl turned back. She took a breath and steadied herself.
"Are you going to tell me now?" Loki pressed.
"Alright…" The girl began, "It's just that…I imagined you'd be taller."
The words were barely out of her mouth before she swung herself around the edge of the door and ran down the corridor. Loki shook his head and listened to the footsteps disappearing down the hallway. They stopped suddenly and too soon. Loki's brow furrowed and he crossed the room, peering around the portal. He looked both ways, but could find no trace of the girl.
Of course... He concluded to himself, sliding a finger under the seal on the scroll and unravelling the parchment to read what was written there, She's the daughter of a sorcerer.